There were 200,000 of us standing in the crowd to see Obama this evening. Every age, race, nationality and dress code imaginable.
It was a phenomenal turnout for a man who is not a head of state, who still has three months' campaigning ahead of him for the presidential election. He wasn't speaking in German either, and yet roughly five percent of the city's population still came out to hear him talk in a foreign language.
The crowds started at the metro station, pouring towards the Victory Column hours before Mr Obama was due on stage. I waited in a herd of people for over an hour to get through the security checkpoint. Bag search, metal detectors, surplus batteries taken off me, bottle of water in the bin. The weather was in the high twenties but with the sun beating down on the mass of bodies, it felt much hotter. The people smoking added to the sense of suffocation, and yet none of us wanted to leave.
Inside the security area, bands played (including Patrice, that alone made the wait worth it), the beer sellers plied their trade, and the crowd bopped around enjoying the Mardi Gras atmosphere. When Obama appeared on stage, people were jumping in the air to catch a glimpse of him, cheering and clapping.
One guy behind me had found a beer crate to stand on for a better view. He was blocking the people behind him, but offered to take photos with their cameras or email them his, perhaps in the Berlin spirit of solidarity that Obama praised in his speech.
So why do the Berliners love Obama? "He's energetic, young and basically is not one of the very old, conservative, hardcore, right-wing Americans. That's very appealing to the German people who are quite centre-left", said Stephanie Beer, a German student. "The fact that he is physically attractive helps too".
Obama didn't talk about the election, his policies, or why he should become president. Tonight he was speaking as "a proud citizen of the United States", in his own words. He urged Europe to play a greater role in Afghanistan. He talked of a world without nuclear weapons. He urged us, the world, to work together for our common freedom.
As the blurry photo testifies, I didn't have a great view of Obama. But it was a pleasure to hear him speak, and see his affect on the people of Berlin. I felt a part of history.
Quotes that got the biggest cheers:
"Thanks to all of you for this extraordinary welcome".
"Tonight I speak to you as a proud citizen of the United States and as a fellow citizen of the world".
"I know that I don't look like the Americans who have previously spoken in this great city." (laughter)
"In the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up."
"People of the world now do your duty. People of the world, look at Berlin." [quoting Ernst Reuter speaking in 1948]
"There is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one."
"Partnership and co-operation among nations is not a choice. It is the only way, the one way to protect our common security and advance our common humanity."
"The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christians and Muslims and Jews cannot stand."
"Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestants and Catholics found a way to live together. In the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice, and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid."
"True partnership and true progress require constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy, of peace and progress. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other."
"America has no better partner than Europe".
"If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope."
"This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons."
"This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons."
"In this century, in this city, of all cities, we must reject the Cold War mindset of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent."
"Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favours the few, and not the many."
"My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace."
"And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close."
"Let us resolve that all nations, including my own, will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere."
"Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, and shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time? Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?"
"Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don't look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?"
"I know my country has not perfected itself."
"Our [America's] allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom; indeed, every language is spoken in our country, every culture has left its imprint on ours, every point of view is expressed in our public squares."
"It is because of those aspirations that all free people, everywhere, became citizens of Berlin."
"People of Berlin, and people of the world, the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope, with an eye for the future, with resolve in our hearts. Let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again. Thank you Berlin".
